The List Revised . . .

So, a few weeks ago I posted a list of my favorite breeds. That list now has to be revised. Ready? Here we go!

1. Alaskan Malamute
2. Siberian Husky
3. Akita
4. German Shepherd
5. Shiba Inu
6. Dalmatian
7. Labrador Retriever
8. Golden Retriever
9. Australian Shepherd
10. Great Dane

There are only a couple of changes, but they're important ones. Also, this list is actually in order, so as can see my number one breed at the moment is the Alaskan Malamute. Don't worry, I will be posting a breed spotlight on the Malamute next, I case you have no flippin' idea what I'm talking about.

Love your dog? Then you need to know . . .

Need to know what? You need to know about raw feeding, that's what. What the heck is raw feeding? Well, its exactly what it sounds like. Feeding your dog (or cat or ferret for that matter) raw food, specifically raw meat. I first encountered the term 'raw feeding' when researching ferrets, but I didn't look into it further at the time because it just seemed like an option for overzealous ferret owners. I ran into the term again after joining a dog-specific forum, and this time my curiosity was piqued. As I read, I became very interested in raw feeding, and began to do a lot of research. This research I will pass on to you, because I love you and I'm awesome.

I'm sure a lot of you are wondering why you would want to feed raw in the first place. Well, there are a bunch of reasons, and all of them are really important.

1. Dogs are carnivores. Don't believe me? Well, just take a look at a dog's teeth. Also keep in mind that even if they don't look like wolves on the outside, on the inside they are pretty much the same. Need more proof? Check out this lovely and well researched article: Dogs are Carnivores
2. Kibble is garbage. I mean that in the most literal sense. If you have a weak stomach, take my word for it and continue to number 3. For the rest of you, here are a few of the things that go into kibble: 4D livestock (the livestock that dies of illness or injury before it reaches the slaughterhouse), spoiled grocery store meat (including the styrofoam packaging it came in), used and spoiled restaurant deep-frying grease and sometimes even euthanized companion animals. That is just a fraction of what goes into pet food (not just dog food). Go here to see exactly what else is in your furry friend's food.
3. An all meat diet improves your dog's health. Because your dog is carnivore, he will get all the nutrition he needs from a raw diet, and none of the stuff he doesn't need. Raw feeders report that their dogs are better tempered, more lively, have clean, white teeth, fresh breath, shinier coats, brighter eyes, shed less, poop a lot less (yes, less poop!), don't smell, go to the vet a lot less and even live longer. Sounds good, doesn't it?
   
4. It's not as expensive as you might think. I admit, my first concern about raw feeding was price, but after doing a lot of research, I have learned that raw feeding is much cheaper overall than feeding kibble. Why? Well, for starters, meat appropriate for feeding a dog can easily be obtained from a butcher, a hunter, or even a wholesale meat distributor at excellent prices. Dogs don't need to be eating steaks. Also, a kibble fed dog is going to present more health problems, therefore more vet visits. Raw fed dogs don't even need to have their teeth brushed! Eating the way nature intended cleans their teeth.

When I get my dog, he is definitely going to be fed raw. As for the rest of you, I encourage you to look into it and at least consider it. You will change your dog's life! The following websites will help you on your journey. Check them out! They have specific information on what to feed when feeding raw, how much to feed, where to find meat, etc.

The Many Myths of Raw Feeding
This site is excellent and answers most of questions that people new to raw feeding have. It is extremely informative and helpful.

Raw Learning
Another excellent site! The FAQ page is especially informative.

Raw Meaty Bones
The original site about feeding raw meaty bones to dogs.

If you're really interested in starting your dog on raw, I really encourage you to join the Yahoo group, Raw Feeding. There are tons of members who all feed their dogs raw and there is always someone around to answer questions. I have learned TONS from this group, so please join!
Raw Feeding Group

Look who's talking now/again/this time . . .

Why does my childhood involve such a ridiculous amount of talking dogs? Not that I'm complaining, but I'm noticing a pattern here. Anyway, this installment of Nostalgic Pups involves live action talking dogs (the kind that don't move their mouth) in a movie that starts out pretty good and then quickly turns into an improbable cheese-fest worthy of the most spectacular face-palm.

What else could I be talking about than the final (was it?) chapter of the Look Who's Talking movies? I have to say that I loved this movie when I was kid, so much so that I rented it repeatedly from the video store. Look Who's Talking Now features those talking babies as fully functional children that actually speak out loud. Mikey is now 8 or something and he really wants a dog, but his parents don't want to get one (I so relate!).Mikey sees a many giving away puppies in the street, and is attracted to the last one left, a particularly charming mutt. The mutt puppy also feels a connection to Mikey, but Mikey can't take him home. That mutt ends up being adopted by two bikers (lol). Is that the last we'll see of him? Well stay tuned.

James (John Travolta) gets a new job flying some sexy temptress business lady around, and Molly (Kirstie Alley) on the other hand, gets fired. The temptress boss lady takes a very personal interest in James, which results in a lot of tension in the family (though James is not really sure why!) At some point Mikey discovers that Santa isn't real, and this blow to Mikey's psyche (ha! I rhymed!) causes James to soften and take Mikey to a shelter to get a dog.

At the same time, James' new boss decides to give the family her dog after hearing about Mikey's desire for one. Dilemma! Now they have two dogs! A mutt named Rocks (voiced by Danny DeVito) and a prissy Standard Poodle named Daphne (voiced by Diane Keaton). Of course, Rocks and Daphne hate each other. Rocks is impossible to train and a disaster, while Daphne is perfect. Hilarious antics ensue.





















Of course, they can't keep both dogs! So Molly and James make a deal to get rid of the dog that causes the most trouble (guess who that ends up being?). Well, its not as simple as that. After an incident where Rocks destroys Daphne's fairy princess dog house thing, Daphne decides to chew up one of Molly's shoes, in the hopes that it will be blamed on Rocks and he will be thrown out.
Well the shoe goes unnoticed for quite some time, and during this time Daphne and Rocks overcome their differences and become an item (shocking, I know).

They go on a nice doggie date, which involves eating out of a trash can and rolling around in mud. It all seems very familiar. Isn't there a an animated Disney movie with prissy girl dog and a street wise mutt that learn from each other and fall in love? The name isn't coming to me at the moment.

Daphne has let go of her inhibitions! She is truly happy!
But later that day . . .
THE SHOE! Yes, the shoe is found and Rocks is banished to the tiny balcony outside the apartment. Now Daphne is regretting being such a heinous witch, but too late for any of that. The humans are too caught up in their problems, which include James having to fly sexy temptress somewhere on Christmas where they conviently end up stranded in a cabin. This is also the part of the movie where everything goes downhill.

In summary, James finally wises up while at the same time his family goes to find him. They all find each other and realize "Hey we're a family and we love each other and that's awesome!!1!". Somewhere in there Rocks protects James from a pack of wolves. He lives. Mikey hears sleigh bells and Santa on a radio. Christmas Spirit lives! The end.

To be fair, this movie isn't that terrible. It is leaps and bounds ahead of the travesty that is Rover Dangerfield, and considering what they had to work with, Travolta and Alley were very funny and very good in this movie. I personally loved Diane Keaton in this, and Danny DeVito isn't too shabby either. This movie will always be a nostalgic favorite of mine, but if I ever watch it again, I will skip the ending. You should do the same!
Stay tuned for the next installment of . . . NOSTALGIC PUPS!

More news for you . . .

So, my foray into the internet dog world continues. I have created an online store, specifically for puppies! Yes, puppies people, puppies. My store is targeted toward people that are about to get a new puppy or just got one. It has all those essential supplies that everyone needs for a new puppy, and they're all in one place.

My store also has a very large selection of puppy-specific premium dog food. Yes, it can be pricey, but unless you're willing to go raw (more on that in a later post!) this is the best thing you can do for your puppy.

Wanna guess what the store is called? Puppydog Dreamshop! Yup, Puppydog Dreamshop is Puppydog Dreams' sister site.

Wanna visit? Click here! Also note, you don't have to buy anything (I mean if you want to please do!) but I would appreciate it if you looked around and clicked on the google ads that are on the store. My store also has competitive pricing on certain items, so if something is cheaper somewhere else, you can buy it there! Its very easy and convenient for everyone invovled, so if you know anyone that would be interested, please let them know about my store! I will love you forever! Here's the link again: http://puppydogdreams.zlio.net/

Thanks for the support!!

The Good News . . .

Yea, I haven't been updating in awhile. That's because I wanted to give you a whole mess of news in one day! That's just me being awesome, no need to thank me.

SO!

I presented my case to my parents. I prepared a speech, with an accompanying power point presentation that would expand on certain points of my speech. It was very professional (except for the fact that I was wearing pajamas) and I managed to impress my somewhat confused parents. The verdict?

Wait for it . . .
Wait for it . . .
WAIT FOR IT!

I'm getting a dog! Yes, my parents were so impressed by what I had to say that I was granted permission to get a dog. HOWEVER! I will not be able to get this dog until sometime next year because of several things that include money, home renovations and time. I think that's really reasonable. After all, it really doesn't make sense to get a puppy when you're getting new flooring installed.

But my battles are not over yet. There were no decisions made as to what breed of dog I'm getting or if this dog will be allowed to be inside (that is a HUGE issue for my mom). I didn't push these issues on purpose though. I feel like it would have been too much at once for my parents, and they would've ended up saying no to everything :P.

So for now I'm biding my time, doing research on breeds (remember that top ten list I posted a while ago?) and of course trying to make enough money to actually purchase this dog. This is where you come in. PLEASE click on my Google Ads. I promise your computer won't explode and you don't have to buy anything; in fact, you don't have to do much. Just click. Pleeeeease click them. Secondly, if you know anyone that loves dogs as much as I do, please point them in the direction of my blog. I really enjoy this blog, but it kind of sucks not having anyone to read it. So spread the word! Think of it this way: if my blog gets very popular, I can always return the favor and advertise things for you. In the end we are all winners!

So, I won the first big battle, but the war isn't over yet! Stay tuned for the breed battle AND the inside/outside battle (it will be bloody)!

Scary and intimidating . . .

Being the responsible and awesome person that I am, I want to get my non-existent dog from either a. a shelter or b. a reputable breeder.

However! Option b is proving to be a daunting task. First of all, I don't recommend searching for breeders on the internet. It is difficult to find the legit ones, and even when you do, they're usually located in like, Tibet. Ok so not really Tibet, but you know, REALLY far away from me. There is also the fact that most of these people only breed show-quality or field-quality dogs. There's nothing wrong with that, mind you, but it makes finding a responsible breeder that only breeds companion dogs kind of difficult. It also makes finding something I might be able to afford really difficult. They are also scary. Scary and intimidating. Some of these people make me feel like they would put Cesar Millan on a waiting list for a puppy, and then proceed to not give him the puppy.Seriously, this world of dog breeding seems so exclusive. It feels like a club they're not gonna let me join. It also doesn't help that like 95% of them have hideous websites that are impossible to navigate. Do you think if I offered to redesign them they would give me a chance? Maybe a discount? A recommendation letter?

Anyway, if anyone can help me find some good breeders in the area, leave a comment! I will love you forever!

Still obsessing . . .

Yes I'm still obsessing! I am obsessing about dog breeds and dog names. I said before that the dog I picture in my head for me is a German Shepherd, but there are some other breeds that I love. Here are the top ten breeds I'm interested in owning. They will be in no particular order, because I don't feel like it.

1. Australian Shepherd
2. Golden Retriever
3. Shiba Inu
4. German Shepherd
5. Labrador Retriever
6. Siberian Husky
7. Border Collie
8. Weimaraner
9. Great Dane
10. Dalmatian

And now, dog names. I sincerely believe that dog names should not be overcomplicated or people names. Why? Well, I have a true story to illustrate this for you. So I was at a party with friends a while back, and one friend (we will call her LaToya for confidentiality purposes) had brought her new boyfriend (who shall be called Billy). When LaToya introduced Sancho to us, another friend simply said "I used to have a dog named Billy." Awkwardness ensued, and that is why I don't agree with giving dogs people names, especially names like "Jennifer" and "George". Anyway, here is my list of top ten names for my non-existent dog.

1. Sherlock (technically its a people name, but it doesn't count because its a very famous literary reference)
2. Merlin (see above)
3. Dodger
4. Dusty
5. Zero
6. Strider
7. Loki

Ok so there's only 7, so what? Those are the only names I really like. Thoughts? I may just do a poll on this, but I'm not sure . . . anyway, now I try to sleep. Try being the key word there, of course.